Pattaya, once Thailand's 'Sin City,' beckons weary sailors from USS Abraham Lincoln

PATTAYA, Thailand -- There’s no getting around the fact that Thailand’s seaside resort of Pattaya has a lingering reputation for sex tourism, even though that’s only part of the story for the city that's an expected shore leave destination of crew members aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.Pattaya, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Bangkok, is where many of the 5,000 or so sailors and Marines in the Lincoln's strike group are expected to visit for some rest and recuperation this week after the big ship’s long troubled tour of duty in the Middle East.They will be following in the wake of millions of other tourists, including a significant number of U.S. military personnel who take part every year in major land and sea exercises nearby with their Thai counterparts.Social media ahead of the Lincoln’s visit has been awash with jibes about lusty sailors, but recent visitors say the development of more family-friendly attractions makes the new Pattaya overshadow its former seedy self. Many U.S. Navy ships dock at nearby deep-water facilities such as Laem Chabang Port and the Sattahip Royal Thai Navy Base, both less than an hour away by road.Shore leave spending boosts the local ec...